The Best of Europe Day 16
The Best of Europe
Day 16 Sunday September 21, 2003 – Flight Home
We had a warm night, our room with the west facing windows cooled down very little during the night. By 3:30 AM I finally put the sheets over my body.
We got up at the usual time, 5:45, showered and then got the luggage out by 6:20. We went down for breakfast at 6:30. I checked the internet one more time and went to the room to get our carry on.
We were in the lobby at 7:15 and Otmar wanted us on the bus early as he has another tour starting at 9:30 and he had to get us to the airport. Some members of the tour had trouble getting an elevator so some were on the bus just at 7:30.
We went to Terminal 2 first to let of a group that had an earlier flight than we and then Jurgen drove the maze of roads to Terminal 1 and let us off. We walked over to Concourse C and got on the long line for American Airlines.
When we got to passport control they told us that the airline was looking for people to take the Chicago flight for a compensation of Business Class or $300. As we checked in we mentioned that we were interested and we were placed on the standby if they needed us.
We then entered the security section, waiting in line for some time until they opened two other gates. Then it moved rapidly and we were into the system.
When they saw my backpack, they asked me to open it and went through my camera and bag, my wallet, my laptop power supply and then told me that I had to go to a special room for a computer check.
There they put a sniffer on it to check for explosives. It passed the test and I was out. Gennie had gone through before me and had no problems.
The boarding gate was close by so there was very little walking. We went to the check in desk, asked about the standby and were told we were the 8-9 on the list. There were seven people ahead of us who had expressed an interest. We were told not to board the aircraft so that American could determine the number of no-shows and then tell us.
Our concern about this change of plans is that we were traveling with Craig and Cindie and had to coordinate our transportation from the airport in Denver. This was the major condition to our accepting the possible flight to Chicago. We also would get home about three hours later.
We went into the boarding area and found an electrical plug so I could maintain top battery power for the computer. I began to work on the pictures and also write this journal.
They did not have the air conditioning on so it was warm but it did not have the cigarette smoke that is so prevalent in Europe. They finally put on the AC and we were comfortable.
A CD OF EACH TRIP IS AVAILABLE.
These CDs are compilations of slide presentations of each day (pictures of the events during the day) accompanied by music reflective of the nation and day.
On most CDs there are presentations on the people of the country, people traveling with the group, flowers, and panoramas.
On more recent trips, short videos have been included on the web pages and these videos are also available in the CD.
The CD is available for $20 US. Shipping and handling is included for US addresses. Slightly higher for overseas shipping.
To view an example of the presentations Click Here
As it is an 8:13 presentation, give yourself time to see it in its entirety.
Please contact garciatrips@gmail.com for more specific information and a screen capture of the CD menu.
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